Rachel Recaps

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

When
last we left our heroes, Megatron had gained control of the Nemesis!

Megatron
starts off the episode telling us that he is super awesome now. He
decides to go around and blow a ton of crap up. He's quoting more
from scripture, and Dinobot 2.0 is like “you read that already!”
and Megs says that he likes reading the good parts.

Megatron:
'I am that which is, which was, and is yet to come! And you will know
my name is Megatron when I lay my vengeance upon you!'Dinobot
2.0: You have already read the Covenant of Primus?Megatron:
Just the good parts.

Optimus
has had enough of Megatron's crap, and decides to take the Nemesis
head on by himself. With Tigerhawk, I guess. Yeah, cuz that will go
over really well.

-The
two of us against a giant ship? I don't see the problem.

Tigerhawk:
Quickly, go to your fellow Maximals. Prepare them! If Megatron
destroys the Ark and its occupants, history as we know it will
unravel.Optimus: You can't stop that thing
alone.Tigerhawk: Perhaps, but it is my destiny to try. I
will hold the line here. Go!

Dinobot
2.0 ponders about how his spark feels different all of a sudden. And
the Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day?

Megatron:I'll say one thing for my namesake, he
liked his artillery big and plentiful. Now, where was I? Ah yes,
mindless destruction! Good for the spark I always say.

Optimus
points out that you can't scratch the really big ship all by
yourself. Well, no duh. Tigerhawk says it's his density
destiny to give it his
best shot at stopping the really big ship.

Meanwhile,
Rattrap questions Optimus' order to instigate Operation Eternity.
He's never heard of such a thing. Everyone else is moving boxes while
Rattrap whines. Rhinox states that they may have to relocate the
entire Ark.

Somehow
Tigerhawk, with his...weather controlling...has depleted the ship's
power. Dinobot 2.0 takes a moment to admire Tigerhawk's noble stand.
It would seem that Tigerhawk has the ability to counter the guns, but
not well enough as it overtakes him.

Optimus
tries to call the sideshow, and is told that he was terminated. This
sends Optimus into a fit as he yells at a non-present Megatron.

Somewhere
else, Inferno and Quickstrike have driven out the pre-humans, or so
they think. One of them is still ready to fight back. The Nemesis
looms overhead the lone person, and Dinobot 2.0 wonders why this is
so freakin familiar. He hears a voice telling him he saved the people
there, and the people who don't exist yet.

Megatron
considers the word “honor” to be a bad, bad word. He gets mad at
Dinobot 2.0 for using it. Megs fires on the area, not giving a flying
fig that Inferno and Quickstrike are still down there. Well, scratch
two more characters.

Megatron:
Hmm, I suppose, given my imminent godhood, these primitives should
really be beneath my intention. Ah, still, no score is too small to
settle, I always say."Dinobot
2.0: You would turn
the full fury of this mighty warship on a lone anthropoid?! Tell me,
Megatron, where's the honor in that?!Megatron:
You dare use the h-word to me?!Dinobot
2.0: I…I apologize.
I merely felt our power should be conserved for…the larger
battle.Megatron:
Duly noted...and ignored.

The
Maximals are trying to get the Ark moving, when the Nemesis shows up
to grab them with a tractor beam. Also, Megatron quotes more
scripture.

Optimus
reminds us, yet again, that this has to stop. I don't think you're
getting your point across clearly, Optimus. What are you trying to do
here? Well, Optimus gets knocked out and is being pulled towards some
spinning blades. Why are those there? Nevermind, because Optimus
manages to jam them and get up to a hatchway. He tells Blackarachnia
to speed things up.

Optimus
bursts onto the bridge of the Nemesis like the Kool-Aid Man. Megatron
sarcastically indicates that Big Bot can go ahead and make his hero
speech, but Optimus opts for punching Megs in the face instead. Yeah,
he's mad.

It
seems like Rhinox has gotten the ship moving, but the engines cut off
and the Ark ain't going anywhere.

Back
on the Nemesis, Megs is still quoting scripture. This is getting a
little old. I think even Optimus is getting tired of it.

Megatron:
'And there came a hero who said, "Hurt not the earth, nor the
seas, nor the trees, nor the very fabric of time." But the hero
would not prevail'.Optimus:
Finish the quote, Megatron. 'Nor would he surrender!'

-Stop!
Hammer time.

Rattrap
tosses out his famous “we're all going to die” line and Rhinox
actually agrees with him. That's not good.

Dinobot
2.0 looks like he's starting to question things. He doesn't seem to
like winning in this way, because the Ark is defenseless it would be
a coward's victory. So he gives the Maximals an edge and sends them
schematics for the Ark.

Megs
orders the Ark to be destroyed while they're helpless, and tries to
set Optimus on fire.

Back
on the Ark, the plans direct the remaining Maximals to a shuttle.
They're confused because the shuttle was never mentioned in the
history books. Well, you can't believe everything you read. Rhinox
points out that history is still being written at this point.

Megs
is confused as to why Dinobot 2.0 would go against him. Man, Megs
just can't have any luck with bots named Dinobot. For the third time,
Dinobot is branded a traitor. Megs is getting ready to wipe out
history as everyone knows it, but when he turns around Rhinox is
coming at him in the shuttle. The shuttle crashes through and takes
Megatron with it. Optimus tells Dinobot 2.0 to save himself, but it
doesn't seem like Dinobot 2.0 has that intention.

-No!
The repairs will cost a fortune!

Optimus
and gang watch the Nemesis blow up, and states that all is right with
the world. The Beast Wars are over (for now), and it's time to get
their robotic butts back home!

As
they blast off into space, Optimus gives that heroic speech that
Megatron taunted him about. Megatron is making the ride too, but on
the outside of the shuttle.

Back
in the village, the pre-humans are having a grand old party with
Waspinator overseeing. Finally happy.

Waspinator:
Waspinator happy at last.

-Space!
The final frontier.

THE
END!

FINAL
THOUGHTS

This
is the episode that wraps up the recap of Beast Wars. Megatron has
been stopped (for the time being) and the Maximals are finally on the
way back home.

As
with most of the 2 parters, I feel that I didn't enjoy Part 2 as much
as I enjoyed Part 1. For some reason the conclusion never seems to
live up to the events leading up to the climax at the end of Part 1.
Things end up wrapping up in a mediocre way, or sometimes kind of
silly.

Megatron
spends most of the time yelling quotes from the Covenent of Primus
while he blows things up. Then at the end the ship is stopped when a
shuttle is flown into the front windshield.

At
least the Maximals are on the way home. I just didn't feel as
invested as I did in the previous part.

We
got a brief glimpse at the Dinobot we knew and loved before towards
the end of this part. Was he being influenced by the spirit of his
previous self?

Also,
if Megatron had listened to Dinobot and not fired on the human
settlement, than the Fusion Cannon would have had sufficient power to
destroy the Ark. That's what Megs gets for not listening.

In
a previous episode, Megatron is totally confused as to why Tarantuas
would want to destroy the Ark. And we are told that destroying it
would wipe out everyone desceneded from the Autobots and Decepticons.
So why is Megatron trying to destroy it now? With all this religious
yelling, maybe he's flipped his lid and thinks he'll somehow be
magically spared.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

It's a stormy night over the purple mountains. Tigerhawk is practicing...kung-fu? Element Bending? Whatever he's doing, Optimus is in the background quoting....scripture? Is he quoting something about Maximal Jesus? Transforming Maximal Jesus will come to save us all! After the fireworkshow is over, Rattrap questions what the hell is going on. And I was right...Optimus is reading from "The Covenent of Primus". Only two exist anywhere, and one was on board the Ark.

-"And the name of the beast shall be Bay."

In the Holy Handbook of Antioch, it is written that the "dragon will be cast out and his followers will go with him". Rattrap, ever the skeptic, claims that all they did was evict Megs and company with help from the newest addition to the Maximal freakshow. No way a cassette tape predicted any of that. Wait...why is a robot society using cassette tapes? I guess for the same reason they were using floppies in that one episode.

Rhinox points out this is their last chance to end the Beast Wars. There's something we haven't heard before. Along with Megatron's evil. But with the Pred base being out of comission, they don't know where to find the Preds.

Tigerhawk and Cheetor go flying around looking for the Preds. And fly right over them. Quickstrike complains about how he hates hiding. Hiding?! You guys were standing by a rock half your height! It looked like Megs was floating for crying out loud! You guys were as obvious as a hippy in an Ozzy Osborne concert.

Inferno thinks they should find home. Along with heart, brain, and the nerve. But really I'd focus on brains all around. Waspinator points out that Crazy Bread couldn't find his ass with both hands and directions. Waspinator, I'm the one doing the recap here! You stick to being oddly adorable.

Megs thinks this is a good idea. Seriously....that's not something he thought of earlier than this? Inferno has not let the "my Queen" thing die. And Waspinator knows he's going to end up in pieces at some point. Megs is also counting on the fact that Tarantulas left behind some goodies. And so he did! Dinobot 2.0 finds a secret entrance to something.

-Maybe they'll find Bugs Bunny down there?

Silverbolt and Depth Charge come across the Predicon group. Optiumus tells Depth Charge to wait, but D.C tells Big Bot to ram it where the sun don't shine because he has to get his revenge and all that.

Rampage does not appreciate science. He thinks it's just more of Tarantulas' nonsense and wonders why they are wasting time. Megs disagrees because he asks about the Yellow Submarine (ok, it's not really yellow), and thinks they may be on to something super duper awesome.

Depth Charge finds that the entrance to the bunker has been laced with dynamite. It goes off, and Black Arachnia goes to check on Silverbolt. How was he the only damaged in that giant explosion?

Silverbolt: Worry not, my love. It's just a...scratch.[Silverbolt's arm falls off]Optimus: Maybe. But I think you're due some time in the CR chamber.Silverbolt: Sir, I'm fine. I —Blackarachnia: Shut up and obey your commander, bone-brain.[Silverbolt's head falls off]Silverbolt: Yes, dear.

While Cheetor walks with Silverblt and Black Arachnia back to base so Silverbolt can get repaired, Optimus declares they have important work. They immediatly get to tossing aside tiny stones. Yep...important.

Inferno: There! That will be our new colony!Quickstrike: Eww, I don't wanna move in there. It got all them hairy critters in it. Unless... unless you mean, we's gonna slag 'em! Oh, oh, please tell me that's what yer plannin'!Inferno: The royalty demands a new colony, and we shall take it, by force".Quickstrike: YA-HOO! Now yer talkin', haha!

Inferno and Quickstrike come across a colony of pre-humans. Waspinator says no and he means no! Waspinator declares he's sick of this shit, he quits, and they can kiss Waspinators big fat butt.

Waspinator: I said no! Dragon-Bot command you, Sub-Commander Kiss-Butt! Dragon-Bot not command Waspinator! Not any more! Waspinator sick of being evil. Sick of being Predacon! And, Waspinator especially sick of getting blown to scrap all the time! Sooo, Waspinator quit! As of now, which means Ant-Bot and Two-Head can just pucker their mandibles and plant big, wet, juicy one right here on Waspinator's big...fat...stripy...a..

So they blow him up.

When did the pre-humans start up a brass band? "76 trombones hit the counterpoint!" They start chucking spears at the would-be intruders. The head of Waspinator has plans, but the little girl we've met before starts clubbing Waspinator into oblivion.

Optimus just knows Megs is up to no good. When is he ever? Optimus discovers that Megatron is after Nemesis, which is very bad. Depth Charge is the only one who can go underwater, so could he pretty please stop his bitching and go save the day?

Too late, Megatron and company has found the Nemesis. The most powerful ship ever, and it's the one that shot down the Ark.

Optimus and Tigerhawk are following along. He calls back to Rhinox and tells them there's big trouble.

Optimus explains to Tigerhawk that the Nemesis was the flagship of the ancient Decepticon space fleet. It shot down the Ark and also went down. Tarantulas discovered it's location, and now Megs is on to it. Which, as a reminder, is not good.

Yeah, Megs and Dinobot 2.0 are on board. Megs claims that he chose his name from the Covenent of Primus. It just so happens that Megs has the other copy. There's an Autobot symbol on the front.

-"Underwater and someone STILL managed to steal the furniture!"

Depth Charge is on the scene, and about to go in when Crab Cake shows up. It's time for some underwater kung-fu fighting. They switch to energon blades. Nice how the energon naturally formed into...swords.

Depth Charge: I've no time for you, X.Rampage: Like you had no time for Starbase Rugby? You had friends there as I recall. Tasty ones too!

-"Prepare to meet Mr. Angry Eyes!"

Dinobot 2.0 starts powering up the ship, and Megatron also decides to quote some scripture.

Depth Charge: Raw energon! Right through your twisted spark! Take it! Take it straight to the pit, you SICKENING PIECE OF SLAG!

Depth Charge goes to stab Rampage through the chest, which also affects Dinobot 2.0 since he has the other half. There's a huge detonation that even affects where Rhinox and Rattrap are. Optimus comes to the conclusion that Depth Charge must have succeeded. But apparently he got blown up too. Bye, Depth Charge. Too bad it was only Rampage you blew up, and not the Nemesis like everyone thinks you did.

Optimus watches the not-blown-up Nemesis pop out of the ocean.

-I'm sure J.J. Abrams saw this and decided he had to use it.

End Part 1!

FINAL THOUGHTS:In this episode, Megatron finds the Nemesis. I'm sure when the Maximals found The Ark, people were wondering when the Decepticon ship would come into play. Depth Charge finally got to kill Rampage, which ended up costing D.C his own life too.

When Rampage got stabbed through the spark, the other half was affected as well. And the other half was inside Dinobot 2.0, and for some reason we saw him transposed over the original Dinobot. I'm sure this won't be something that bites Megatron in the ass in Part 2. No way.

I think this episode was a great blend of everything from the episodes I loved when the mysterious aliens were still a huge concern. There was a touch of classic Rattrap sarcasm, a good amount of suspense and action. I loved Waspinator's "I've had enough of this crap" speech. Too bad no one ever seems to take him seriously.

The show ups the body count again by killing off Depth Charge and Rampage. This is the first, and only, instance of a Maximal actually killing a Predicon.

Nemesis was supposed to be a 3 parter, but got narrowed down. There were also more plans extending into a 4th season, but got cut when it was learned there would be no season 4.

We also learn in this episode that Megatron did not in fact take his name from the OTHER Megatron. He states he got his name from the Covenent of Primus.

The version we hear of the Ark and Nemesis going down is different than what was heard before. Originally the Decepticons used a tractor beam to target the Ark, and it was fighting onboard the Ark that caused the crash. Also, it was crashed on purpose. However, Beast Wars was never meant to be a direct continuation, it treats the events of the original as legend. Or Primal could just be plain wrong. Look at how we view the first Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

RECAP:
Space, the final frontier! These are the voyages of...well, nothing really. We go swooping into something ominous looking. In there, Skeletor and his brother talk about an interruption on nexus Earth. But how could that be? Skeletor's brother the Cryptkeeper is very confused, Earth is closed for business! That experiment got an F. But Skeletor insists that something is very, very wrong. As he rotates around his brother. There has to be a new mission!

-oh yeah! These two have been taking up space.

Oh hey...it's Air Razor and Tigatron. So those two have been hanging out in this place. Skeletor and the Cryptkeeper merge the two bots for...reasons.

-not pictured: reasons.

Meanwhile, Megatron is wearing a wig. Cut! I think we should just end the series here, guys. Nothing else to see. This recap is done.

-All done. Nothing else to see here, folks.

Judge Megatron is presiding over Quickstrike's trial, and Waspinator is giving a statement as the defense. Inferno is the court recorder. I'm sure everything is on the up and up here. The jury has to decide, and it would seem that they decide guilty. This is indicated by offering Quickstrike some guns. Quickstrike begs for a second chance, and is more than willing to point all the fingers at Tarantulas. But Megatron's tolerance level for traitors has reached an all time low. Sentence is interrupted by an alarm.

Waspinator: Ooooo, Waspinator like defense! A little more defense, and maybe Waspinator not get blown up all the time!"

Tarantulas is grumbling that all this glorious plans have been interrupted. He is aware that the aliens are coming back. Megatron knows this too. For the moment Chicken Fried Steak is off the hook.

Rattrap and Rhinox are trying to figure out what is going on, but Rhinox seems to have it pegged down pretty quick.

Rattrap: Well, i-i-if it's not a comet, what is it?

Rhinox: Somethin' I thought we'd never see again.

Is it just me, or does Megatron look like one of those Aztec jaguar warriors?

The shields and ship defenses for the Preds all go kapoot, which I guess isn't a good thing. Inferno points out the colony will be destroyed. Reluctantly, Megatron orders that the base be abandoned. Thanks to the aliens, the Preds are homeless now.

Right now, Rattrap is assuming that none of the Preds made it out alive. Everyone else is being a wet blanket. Rhinox and Black Arachnia know that the aliens are back. That was no comet.

Blackarachnia: They're back... just like Tarantulas always said they'd be.

Megatron is more than a little pissed about the base being destroyed.

The Air Razor/Tigatron combo package Tigerhawk emerges. He is the Lorax and he speaks for the trees...scratch that. He speaks for the Vok (the aliens). Razortron (much cooler name) points out that he still recognizes Megatron, and charges him with crimes against time and space. Shouldn't it be the Time Lords delivering these charges? I'm pretty sure they'd have words for the Vok as well. He demands that Megs turn himself in.

Tigerhawk: I am Tigerhawk, emissary of the Vok. Your form's changed, but I know you, Megatron. The Vok charge you with the willful disruption of time and space. Surrender to me immediately. Violence will not be tolerated.

Megatron laughs at the idea of being under arrest, and orders the others to attack. Tigazor apparently can create tornados. Of course. Megs is absolutely blown away by how powerful this new guy is.

The Maximals are also watching the show. Optimus decides to go in to assist Megatron. Rattrap is very confused about why Optimus is going to help their enemy. The main motivation is the fact that Megs is still carrying the spark of the original Megatron.

-I think one of those ink blotch tests got mixed in here.

Megs and Air Bud are getting ready for a face off. The two create sparks (not like that, get your head out of the gutter). Cheetor sees what's up, and is very confused. Not for long, as Tarantulas knocks him out.

Chickenhawk comes equiped with a machine gun, and blasts Megs out of the sky. Tarantulas is watching from on-high, but before he can do anything Optimus shows up.

Optimus introduces himself, but is told that the Vok know very well who he is. Sparrowhawk won't listen to Optimus trying to tell him why Megs can't be destroyed. It would only make things worse. Tigerhawk can also earthbend, and sends Optimus underground or...something.

Cheetor is visited by two sparks. The ghosts of Air Razor and Tigatron merge sparks and then Skeletor shows up. What is with Cheetor and the visions? Cheetor follows the bouncing ball as Optimus digs himself out of wherever he was.

Tigerhawk has been captured by Tarantulas. The Vok also know Tarantulas. These guys sure get around. Tarantulas wants to erase the alien influence from Tigerhawk, and make it so he'll only serve Tarantulas.

Cheetor arrives at a cave, and hears cackling. Tarantulas, of course. No one else cackles. Tarantulas points out that he is descended from neither Decepticon or Autobot like the rest of the Council. Tigerhawk says that Tarantulas is insane to which Tarantulas replies along the lines of "no duh"!

-You will be haunted by 3 spirits!

Skeletor and the Cryptkeeper are exorcised from Tigerhawk. "Get behind me Satan!" and the two proceed to attack Tarantulas and take him over instead. Tarantulas' extractor gets turned during the posession and Tarantulas.....explodes. That was rather violent, don't you think, show? It's assumed the Vok exploded too.

-Probably the most violent death of the show.

The ghosts of Air Razor and Tigatron take Tigerhawk's body. Tigerhawk takes a moment to adjust to how things have changed, and his new name.

The three fly off as Megatron watches.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
In this episode the Vok return, very briefly, to adress the fact that those dang robots are still on Earth and could still be dangerous. We see the Vok for what they really are in this episode: the spawn of Skeletor and the Cryptkeeper. They really don't do much. The create Tigerhawk, Tigerhawk gets captured, and then the power of Christ compels them to leave, and then they explode with Tarantulas.

With how little screen time Air Razor got, it's kind of crappy that she gets merged into a new character with Tigatron, and Tigatron is the main voice/personality brought out. No offense, but they couldn't have made Tigerhawk a chick? The only chick is Blackarachnia, has been for quite some time now. Also, did anyone else notice this is the first time since they vanished that Tigatron and Air Razor have even been mentioned by any of the other Maximals? Some friends, huh?

All in all, I think the build up to the Vok's arrival was a lot more exciting than when we finally see them. The air of mystery and not knowing their motives was the driving force. This episode seemed more like a "oh yeah...those guys are still around". So...were those two the only Vok in existence? Were there more? Do they all look like the spawn of Skeletor? Why do they look like the spawn of Skeletor? So many questions, but with only two episodes left in Season 3...we will get no answers.

Tarantulas had been trying all this time to destroy the Vok, but when he actually comes face to face with them? He wusses out and fires all the bullets like a freak show.

The Nemesis, which will be featured in the final 2 parter, was seen on Tarantulas' screen. Meaning he was planning to use it for himself.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Silverbolt is on
guard duty when the Preds decide to show up and cause some trouble.
Waspinator is named by Megatron as the sub-Commander. His job is to
draw out Optimus. Waspy wants to make Megatron proud.
Aw...Waspinator, bless.

Megatron:Ah, sometimes deception is the better part of valor.

Rattrap is
complaining about how bored he is, when the alarm starts to go off.
Optimus, Cheetor, and Rattrap are on the move.

Waspinator
declares that Silverbolt is no match for him, and declares the
attack. Only to discover that no one is coming. Poor Waspinator was
only bait it would seem. Optimus is injected with a...bug...by blow
gun from Tarantulas. It would seem that the bug is going after his
Spark. Which gives Optimus some odd twitches and...an accent?

I'm sure there's a pill to clear that up.

Optimus has
everyone come home, and tells Cheetor to take a break. Before
punching him in the face. I bet he's wanted to do that for a very
long time. I mean...I have.

Waspinator is in there somewhere, I think.

Blackarachnia
returns and notices that something is amiss. It would seem that
Blackarachnia hates surprise parties. She comes across Optimus, who
claims there was a power failure and by the way where's Depth Charge
it is way past curfew! Optimus is acting kind of funny.

Surprise! It's
Megatron. So it was a party after all. He announces they've been
waiting for her. Well, the answer to Optimus acting crazy is because
he's been possessed by Quickstrike. And Quickstrike strike moves into
super creepy territory using Optimus' body to...flirt....with
Blackarachnia. I never want to type that again.

The sadistic crab
(Sadistic Crab will be the name of my new band) stops
Blackarachnia from getting away, and Inferno is put on guard duty. Is
that really so wise? Well, Megatron tries to use the possessed
Optimus to get the codes, but he needs a Maximal security code.

Blackarachnia:
You'll live to regret this, crab legs.Rampage: I regret
everything, my sweet. Struggle as much as you like, I enjoy it

Sadistic Crab
takes some time to be creepy. No surprise there. Blackarachnia takes
him out and calls him Crab Cake!

Once again
Megatron is in the area with the knocked out Autobots, and finds his
namesake in the corner. Megatron 2.0 plans on merging his spark with
the original model. Just like Optimus did previously. It's bound to
be awesome, right? It was for Optimus. It just made him butt ugly.

Ok, this looks kind of obscene.

Tarantulas has a
plan, and tells Quickstrike to make his move. Chicken Fried Steak
grabs Megatron and drops him into the lava. Tarantulas announces that
the Ark is his along with Cybertron's destiny.

Quickstrike:Time to open me up a can of kick-keister!

Has the One Ring been destroyed?

Blackarachnia,
meanwhile, is attempting to assemble the Avengers. I mean the other
Maximals.

Inferno is on the
hunt, and it's not working out for him. He gets locked out, and then
shot. It's so hard to get good help.

Meanwhile, the
plan to off Megatron didn't exactly work out like Tarantulas was
hoping. Ok, Megatron has officially broken the trend of characters
getting uglier with changes. The dragon form is kind of kick ass.
Just saying.

Tarantulas:By the Pit, you live!Megatron:
I am not so easily destroyed. And thanks to your treachery, my power
is greater than ever! Let me... thank you.

By the Pit? Brad Pitt?

Quick, Link! The Master Sword!

Blackarachnia is
about to get stepped on when she finally shoots the controller thing
that Quickstrike was using. So Optimus is himself again.

Megatron is kind
of ticked off that Tarantulas is so incompetent when it comes to
backstabbing. He demands that Tarantulas do better next time. That
has to be a first.

Megatron: I
can suffer your treachery, lieutenant, but not your
incompetence![throws Tarantulas into the lava]Megatron:
Treachery requires no mistakes.

Blackarachnia
tries to stop the impending core implosion, but so far no dice.
Optimus and Megatron are duking it out, and Megatron announces that
he conquers instead of yielding. It would seem that Megatron can
breathe fire now. I mean, of course, dragon form.

Megatron:Megatron does not yield... he conquers!

This is going to
be one of those things where the explosion is stopped at the last
second, right? Yeah, one second to spare. Of course. How cliché.

Megatron:Did you think you could stand against the fury of both
Megatrons?

Megatron can
freeze things too? Is he the Song of Ice and Fire? He's about to
finish off Optimus, when the rest of the Maximal gang shows up to
stop him.

Optimus announces
that it's now super duper important that they win the war. It wasn't
before? Was it just a mild priority until now?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Quickstrike mind
controlling Optimus would have been a better plot element if they had
stretched it out longer. Maybe actually fooled a few of the Maximals
instead of jumping right into Quickstrike's voice coming out of
Optimus. That's another thing, I think it would have been way better
to hear Optimus' voice coming out, but with Quickstrike's mannerisms
and accent.

So the ultimate
goal of this episode was so Megatron could gain access to the section
of the Ark where the Autobots, and apparently Megatron 1.0 were
stashed. He wanted to do what Optimus did at the start of the season
so he could be stronger and cooler. As I stated earlier, I think that
Megatron is the first character so far to get an upgrade and NOT get
uglier as a result. The dragon form is pretty awesome, and the fusion
of dragon, Megatron 1.0 and current Megatron is well done.

All that remains
to be seen is how things will change now that Megatron has acquired
the power of awesome.

Not sure why
Tarantulas expected anything bad to happen to Megatron in the lava.
Later on when he gets pushed in, Tarantulas comes up just fine.

The original
Megatron's spark getting returned to his body is never covered in the
show. It was written and animated, but not included. It's just
assumed that everything goes back to the way it was supposed to be.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

*Note: Sorry for the incredibly long delay in postings. Classes have kept me super busy the past few months.

EPISODE 48: Crossing the Rubicon

RECAP:

In the jungle,
science appears to be happening! Blackarachnia is finally getting
around to modifying herself so she can be like all the cool kids.
Silverbolt is investigating the source of science, and he ruins all
the hard work.

Science!

Dudley Do-Right
points out that she could have damaged or killed herself. And
something has indeed gone wrong. Her Pred-Shell program is
deteriorating, and if it will eventually infect her Maximal
programming. Oh well.

Rhinox:
How do you feel?Blackarachnia: Like
someone's been playing 'squash the spider' with an energon bomb.

Optimus points out
that he gave Blackarachnia credit for more brains. She took the drive
so she could get more power as a Transmetal. And just as Dinobot
before, Optimus has fully accepted Blackarachnia as a full on
Maximal. I really don't think these guys appreciate fully how
accepting Optimus is regardless of these bot's backgrounds.

Blackarachnia:Oh, yeah. Sure. Like you were gonna help the Pred get
more power.Optimus: Maximal or Predacon,
you're one of us! You should know that by now.

Blackarachnia has
two options. Neither which she particularly likes: become a drooling
vegetable, or a full on Maximal. I guess in her mind the second
option is much like the first. Silverbolt points out that
Blackarachnia is only a Pred because Creepy McScience made her that
way.

An attack of
whatever is plaguing Blackarachnia saves us from an awkward make-out
session. Thank the Matrix! Before she goes under for a procedure, she
downloads the Ark's access codes to Optimus for safe keeping.

Cheetor and
Silverbolt take turns threatening Rattrap's life. That's something we
haven't heard in a while.

Blackarachnia:See you soon, boys... if you're lucky.

Rhinox is doing
his own science! I trust Rhinox science more than the others. And
with that I believe we are inside Blackarachnia's head? Man, these
long names are obnoxious to type out. Rhinox disables the stasis lock
and begins the program removal.

Fantastic Voyage?

So far things seem
to be going well, and then Tarantulas is alerted to what is going on.
Somehow. Creepy McRape spider warns Megatron of what is going on
(that must be a first), and announces that Blackarachnia will never
survive the procedure.

And Megatron
squeezes his rubber duck. Yeah. That happened.

Rhinox comes
across what he rightly identifies as Tarantulas' work, and has to
stop it fast! Luckily, Rhinox is about as awesome as awesome can get
in the science department. Then the Preds decide to pay a visit and
blow things up. But no matter what the science must go on!

Optimus is no
dummy and realizes that the Preds are trying to cut power to stop the
science from happening. Inside, Silverbolt continues to be mushy and
annoying. And outside, Quickstrike shows up to be just...odd.

Things naturally
wouldn't be the same without Inferno McCrazyBread spouting random
crap. How I've missed that. And then he blows up.

Inside, there is
more problems happening inside Blackarachnia, and it looks like
Rhinox can stop it. But there is a system disruption. Unfortunately,
Rhinox can't get back in in time, and things look bad. Rhinox was too
late and there is flat lining.

She's dead, Jim!

This, naturally,
pisses off Silverbolt. Mess with Blackarachnia, and Silverbolt messes
with you. Rhinox goes out to break the bad news. The rest of the
Maximals are actually sad that the lady spider is gone, and Optimus
says that they should have trusted her more. This is when they notice
that Silverbolt is gone. Gone and pissed off big time!

Tarantulas:Ahh, the avenging hero!

The
fact that Silverbolt
is so ticked off should make you a little more concerned, Tarantulas.

While everyone is
off to find the Pissed-Off Knight, something is reviving
Blackarachnia all by itself.

The Mystical Orb of McGuffin! We found it!

Crab Cake notices
Silverbolt's pain and wants to help by making it worse.

Rampage:Ah, such pain. I must help deepen it.

He is about to do
so when Blackarachnia shows up and Maximizes! She comments that Crab
Cake not only missed, but he is ugly too. I'm sorry to point this
out, sweetie, but...so are you. God damn are you ugly.

Back and uglier than ever!

Back at the base,
we get a mushy moment to top all mushy moments. And it's sickening.
Make it stop, please. Thank you.

Optimus: Not a very
Maximal approach.Blackarachnia: Even when
I'm good, I'm still bad.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This episode is
all about Blackarachnia's desire to become Trans-Metal just like
everyone else by any means necessary. First she tries to do it on her
own, but that backfires and it looks like she could end up dying as a
result of her self-science. And then...magic cures her and makes her
Trans-Metal anyway? I'm not entirely clear on what happened that made
the change possible. We just see the mystical Orb of McGuffin solve
everything.

And if there is
one thing we can expect from all of this, it is consistency. As
upgrades happen for our characters they are consistently uglier than
the previous incarnation. I know, I'm just never satisfied.

So, for most of
the episode, Blackarachnia is in danger of taking the Long Nap and
this freaks Silverbolt out. But when it looks like she is gone
forever, our Silver Knight has become the Dark “I'm going to kill
Tarantulas” Knight. It was interesting to see Silverbolt just
completely snap for that short period of time.

Now, what I would
have liked even better would be one of a couple things:

If Silverbolt
had completely destroyed Tarantulas under the belief that
Blackarachnia was dead, and THEN discover that she's not dead
yet. Then see him having to live with the consequences of what he
did because it is so against his code of conduct, plus dealing with
Optimus being severely disappointed in him.

Or the same
thing, but the one difference being that Blackarachnia was really
most sincerely dead and having that also deeply affect Silverbolt.

Blackarachnia is a
full Maximal now. We'll have to see if this changes her personality
at all. She claims to still have her bad girl streak from before.

What I find
interesting is that a second Predicon has joined the ranks of the
Maximals and Optimus has already fully accepted them into the crew.
Silverbolt doesn't count. Yes, Optimus admits when they thought
Blackarachnia was dead, that he didn't completely trust her, but she
was still a member of the crew to him.

All things
considered though, this episode had a couple of very dark elements
for a children's show at the time. A whole coordinated Predicon
attack effort to ensure that a dead Blackarachnia stayed
dead. Usually the losers limp off to the CR chamber and are fine
later. To top that off, Silverbolt is not only trying to kill
Tarantulas, he's still trying to kill the creepy spider after
he's unconscious and incapable of fighting back!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

It's been about a month since I've posted a recap, but since the last one I've started college up again. So that's been eating up a lot of time.

Episode 47: Go With The Flow

RECAP:

It would seem that up on a mountain,
there is science happening! While down in the forest, Cheetor is on
the prowl. It looks for all the world like he has a scorpion tail.
Out of nowhere the Una and Chak show up and tackle Cheetor. Una
starts hacking away at Cheetor with a stick. Good girl. Rattrap
meanwhile is there as a babysitter for Cheetor.

Cheetor is trying to teach the children
about levers and pulleys. Maybe a little slapstick comedy on the
side. Rattrap is like the rest of us, we'd rather watch things
explode. I think Michael Bay heard that line and took it to heart.

Rattrap: Peh,
educational stuff. I'd rather watching things explode.

Cheetor: the prehistoric origins of No Child Left Behind.

Back at Science Caverns, Inferno is
getting electrocuted. Along with everyone else. Time to run away from
Science like scared little pre-humans! Megatron notices that the Ark
is protected, but the Maximals are not. Someone not Cybertronian is
needed to finish the machine, and Tarantulas knows just the
pre-humans they need for their science project! Something tells me
with the kiddos, Megs is going to get more than he bargained for.

Waspinator is super happy about his new
kidnapping job. Una, the girl, is grabbed by Waspinator. Depth Charge
shows up too late to be of any use. No surprise there.

Waspinator: Waspinator
sees helpless target! Oh happy day!

Waspinator enjoys the little things in
life. Cuz what else does he have?

Rattrap hitches a ride with Depth
Charge to go get the Preds/rescue Una.

Una is holding her own, and following
Cheetor's advice to attack the hinges. How is it that the kids speak
like crap, but they can understand/process what they're told just
fine? Waspinator says that the human is uninjured, but she's injuring
Waspinator. Megatron sees that everything is normal. LOL!

Megatron fires the Laser Gun of
Fabulous at Depth Charge. Meanwhile, everyone nearby is getting
zapped. Tarantulas is having a hard time shutting it down.

Meanwhile, Depth Charge is out of power
and going down. They meet the ground rather suddenly. Rattrap is
fine, but “Charlie Tuna” is a little buried. Not kidding, that's
what Rattrap called him. Rattrap leaves Charlie behind to go find
Una.

Depth Charge: I ain't
dead.Rattrap: This day's just full of
disappointments.

Megatron tries to talk with the Una,
and tells her to finish installing the plates. She tries to eat it
and balance it on her head. Yep, that's exactly what Megs wanted.
Megs realizes that working with pre-humans isn't as easy as he
thought it would be. Again, how is she able to understand and follow
this instructions?

She's from Tech Support.

Rattrap shows up to save the day and
has to tangle with Dinobot 2.0. Megatron then notes that they don't
need the kiddo anymore. Tarantulas proceeds to do his creepy thing.
He's good at that. Una remembers her lesson on levers and pushes
something large and heavy onto Tarantulas. Una goes flying, and is
naturally caught by Rattrap in the nick of time. Triumphant fanfare
and everything!

Rattrap needs to install a fare meter or something.

It would seem that Depth Charge needs
to get to the water to heal himself? Rattrap laments that they don't
have the equipment needed. Una suggests a lever, and they try it.
That seems to do the trick. I guess Rattrap wasn't paying attention
to Cheetor's lecture on simple machines.

Depth Charge's new job is: boat. Since
he can't transform or move. And of course, they head right for a
waterfall. Why is there always a waterfall in these situations?
Somehow they're okay, and still on Depth Charge's back.

Waspinator and Inferno, even Dinobot
2.0, are easily dispatched with mud to just Waspinator's face. His
sky flailing takes out the other two.

Megatron is ready to rain down more
doom with his Laser Gun of Fabulous. This time, it would appear that
everything is working just fine. They can now turn the Maximals into
crispy fried chicken. Or can they? Una took the stabilizer crystal
and is now wearing it as a hair decoration. So the Caverns of Science
go kaboom!

Depth Charge is all set to go rain hell
on the helpless Preds, but Rattrap insists on going home. Seeing as
how they're practically falling apart and stuff.

Not the image that comes to mind with "going into the sunset".

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I could take or leave this episode
really. The only thing we get is that the pre-human kids are way
smarter than they look. Can't talk very well, but apparently they can
process and follow instructions fairly well. Not so sure about that
personally.

So no real character development in
this episode. It just kind of...exists. So, unfortunately I don't
have much to say about it. Only that it's said this episode was
instead supposed to be an episode titled "Dark Glass" where
Rattrap tries to bring back old Dinobot, but it fails horribly. That
would have been nice to see.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

The episode starts
with a computerized drug trip. It would seem that was an X-Ray or
something of Blackarachnia. Blackarachnia and Rattrap exchange some
banter, and Cheetor starts to be creepy.

Setting up for the annual Laser Light Show.

Rhinox discovers
Blackarachnia's Predicon core. It's this that's keeping her from
discovering her true Maximal self. It would seem like our spider
friend is getting sick and tired of being cooped up and tired of
Cheetor's crush. I don't blame her. She feels as if she has proved
herself to the Maximals, but they refuse to accept her.

Blackarachnia:
What's
the matter? Don't you trust me?Rattrap:
Huh,
about as far as an anvil can jump. [forcibly grabbed by the neck] Of
course, I mean that in the best possible way.

Optimus tells
Cheetor to go replace Silverbolt scouting, or whatever he was doing.
Then he asks if Rhinox can remove the Predicon shell, but Rhinox says
that it's too risky to try right now. Blackarachnia, of course,
overhears this and decides to bail in case they want to try something
without permission. Or Cheetor gets creepier. That's a possibility.

As she leaves,
Dinobot 2.0 is watching. I would guess he's getting ready to go
hunting. Be vewy qwuiet, I'm hunting spiders?

Blackarachnia
seems to be enjoying her time outside. As she pauses to reflect,
Blackarachnia has an existential conversation with a butterfly that
she snags. It would seem she adores Silverbolt, but wants to just be
herself. Why can't the Maximals accept that?

Dinobot decides to
lead Blackarachnia on a chase through the forest. For some reason
it's a game she's willing to play, because I bet it's a game that
she's good at. She manages to snag Dinobot 2.0 and laments that
things were over too fast and got boring. However, Dinobot 2.0 proves
her wrong by escaping.

Blackarachnia
doesn't seem to mind being called a coward, but she hates being
called a Maximal.

Back at the
Maximal base, Silverbolt laments that she is nowhere to be found. So
he interrupts Rattrap playing the N64 game to figure out where she
is. Silverbolt begs for a chance to find Blackarachnia and bring her
back before her disapearance is reported to Optimus. The White Knight
points out that Rattrap trusted the old Dinobot.

Rattrap: Hands
off the metal, Sir Drools-a-lot!

Dinobot 2.0 is
leading Blackarachnia into a jamming zone of some sort. I think New
Dinobot is planning some trouble. And I would be right, because
Blackarachnia fires upon a hologram instead of the real Dinobot 2.0.

And, lo, the fanfic did grow faster than the new trees!

Blackarachnia is
down for the count, but not for long. She trips up Dinobot 2.0 and a
fight ensues. There is much destruction of trees. Lord, I can just
hear Tigatron in my head screaming “You. Will. Leave. The. Wild.
ALONE!!”

Our spider heroine
gets trapped under a tree and things are looking grim. At the last
second, naturally, Blackarachnia is able to free herself and blast
Dinobot 2.0 point blank. As a purple....snake...cures Dinobot 2.0,
Blackarachnia calls Silverbolt for help. Wow...that's a first, I
think. Her actually calling for help.

Does Dinobot secretly want to be a lumberjack?

Silverbolt is on
the prowl, but has also discovered the jamming zone (at least it's
not the twilight zone). So he lands and decides to follow his nose!
Wherever it goes! He also smells Dinobot 2.0 and knows that there's
trouble.

Cut back to
Rattrap's video game time once again getting interrupted. This time
by Optimus demanding to know where everyone is vanishing to. Rhinox
figures out they must be in the jamming zone. The Jamming Zone sounds
like the name of some strange club.

Silverbolt manages
to find Blackarachnia, and once he does Dinobot 2.0 pops up from
behind a rock (as he is apt to do) and opens fire. White Knight gets
fired on, and he ain't looking so hot. Blackarachnia declares that
the fight is between Preds only. Blackarachnia seems to be playing
her cunning card as she tries to convince Dinobot 2.0 that the two of
them could take over with their powers combined. As long as they
don't use them to call Captain Planet.

Dinobot...that's not how laser eye surgery works.

Well, Dinobot 2.0
didn't buy Blackarachnia's story. He's about to finish things off
when interrupted by the White Knight. Dinobot 2.0 is blown over a
cliff. However, he doesn't stay there until Blackarachnia gives him a
boost. Always nice to lend a helping hand.

Silverbolt
confronts Blackarachnia about her plans to “switch sides”, and
she tries to tell him it was all an elaborate ruse! Silverbolt tries
to tell her that the others have accepted her as part of the team,
but she doesn't buy it.

Blackarachnia
tries to leave, but Silverbolt won't let her. A swift headbutt knocks
them both out. Yeah, that might not have been such a smart idea. Once
they both go down, Optimus shows up and says they both look like
total crap. This is when Blackarachnia confronts Optimus about what
she overheard. Optimus tells her it would be nice if she would be the
Maximal she was meant to be, but she was always going to have a say
in the matter.

Silverbolt:You're
going to hear the truth if it...[Blackarachnia
turns around and headbutts Silverbolt, knocking him
down.]Blackarachnia:Warned
ya... ohh, not such a great idea.[Blackarachnia
falls to the ground; she and Silverbolt groan.]

Blackarachnia and
White Knight have a mushy moment, and that's where the episode ends.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

In this episode
it's made pretty clear that Blackarachnia knows darn well who she
wants to be. The complete opposite over Dinobot who was struggling to
figure out where he belonged in the grand scheme of things.

Blackarachnia is
worried about being forced into changing, and is obviously relieved
to discover that she always had a say in the matter. I imagine on the
Predicon side there's no choice; things just are. We also see that
Blackarachnia is getting sick and tired of Cheetor's sudden crush. He
is on the fast train to Creepy Town, and she knows it. Besides, she
gets enough puppy love from Silverbolt.

Also, it would
appear based on the scans at the start of the episode....that
Blackarachnia has a set of reproductive organs. Really? Really?!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

We begin in Cheetor's room. Cheetor owns such things as a model of the solar system, a pic of him and season 1 Optimus, and a pic of....Blackarachnia. Cheetor himself is snoozing away without the help of the CR Chamber.

Optimus peeks in on him before checking in with Rattrap. Optimus is off to bed, and Rattrap is napping on the job. No big shock there.

Time for another odd Cheetor dream. Will this one tell the future like his other dreams? The other Maximals, in the dream, are doing some kind of odd science experiment. Cheetor pops out of the CR Dream Chamber as something weird looking. Then Cheetor wakes up and changes into the wild Cheetor. Cheetor's a werewolf. Thought so.

Cheetor 3.0. Now with a bigger attitude.

Rattrap hasn't put two and two together and tries to shoot Cheetor of the Jungle. Rattrap thinks that the creature got Cheetor.

Megatron hears the sound, and recognizes it as the thing that scared him. It is moving really fast. Megs concludes that its a Transmetal 2. They came out with a sequel? I don't think it wil do as well in the box office.

Cheetor 2.0 manages to change back into himself. Oh hey...his freckles are gone. Have they always been gone and I just didn't notice? Cheetor wonders how he got back in the woods, and suddenly it all comes back to him. And yeah, his dream told the future again.

Um...get behind me, Satan?

Silverbolt has gone out searching for Cheetor, and doesn't seem to happy when Blackarachnia asks after him. Why's she so concerned about the idiot all of a sudden?

Blackarachnia:Any sign of our tabby?

Silverbolt: Oh, not so much as a whisker. Your...concern does you credit.

Blackarachnia: I'm full of surprises. [winks]

Rattrap is still convinced that Cheetor is a goner. If he was...why no scraps left over? No one else thinks so. Optimus goes back to look at the security footage. Depth Charge is brought in to be asked what happened, but he refuses to talk. Optimus has to threaten Depth Charge's life in order to get any info out of him. Depth Charge says that he destroyed the gizmo responsible, cuz he had no idea that Cheetor was the weird thing running around.

Optimus: You listen, hardhead. Cheetor's gone, and I think you know something, so you will talk, or I will rip out your core processor and extract the information personally.

Threats are how you get favors out of Depth Charge.

Dinobot 2.0 and Waspinator are out looking around. Before Dinobot 2.0 turns Waspinator into cole slaw. Poor Waspy just can't cut a break.

Waspinator:Wait! Need plan! Waspinator in charge!

Dinobot 2.0: I am the plan.

"That's so cool! Too bad the audience can't see it."

The search is getting ready to begin again, when Cheetor wanders up to the front door. Cheetor makes up a story about hunting the monster thing, and says (in a very unconvincing way) that he took care of everything. Optimus clearly does not buy this because he's like "ok! Time to go examine the corpse".

After Optimus reaches the site and scratches his arm pit the hunt is on! Cheetor asks why Optimus doesn't trust him. Because Optimus believes that he knows what's really going on and the Village Idiot is hiding something. Cheetor is ready to tell him the truth when Dinobot 2.0 pops out with lasers blazing. Optimus is down for the count.

Waspinator is in one piece again. And has a sling on his front insect leg. So that one leg was hurt worse than the rest of him?

Cheetor has gone through Maximal puberty. He's got a new look (also ugly), and a deeper voice (even more annoying). Why is it with each new change the characters get uglier? Cheetor is now a big show off.

Post-puberty Cheetor: More annoying than ever before!

Optimus manages to call for back up, but I really don't think that's necessary. The change must have given Cheetor Kung Fu skills like Neo being plugged into the Matrix or something. Suddenly he's got some mad skillz.

The others come in guns at the ready, but are stopped before they can do anything. Beast mode in this Transmetal 2 form is still feral, according to Optimus. The others try to coach him into getting control over himself. Suddenly there is slow motion and strange glowing. Is Optimus using the Force?

Rattrap concurs with the cyber puberty. Yep. New Cheetor is still annoying, and kind of a punk. But apparently Blackarachnia approves of the new look. So she is apparently going to try it for herself.

Cheetor:(Noticing Silverbolt and Rattrap looking at his new form) You lookin' at somethin'?!

[Silverbolt and Rattrap look at each other]

Rattrap: Oh, joy...cyber-puberty.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

So Cheetor has achieved the look he will keep through Beast Machines (never seen it, just basing that off pictures I've seen). And, as with Optimus, he got uglier. Plus he's somehow even more annoying than he was before. Essentially, he's gone through puberty, he's a big boy now. This entails: a deeper voice, muscles, no freckles, and a little built in goatee. What's worse is now he is trying to pursue a new bad boy attitude to go with his new looks. That and it seems he is starting to move away from wanting Optimus' approval all the time. Suddenly, Cheetor can take down Dinobot 2.0 in a fight. Whether that was just the feral instincts, or Cheetor is that good a fighter now remains to be seen.

Blackarachnia is taking notice of Cheetor's new attempt at a Bad Boy attitude, and the new looks helps to back that up. It's clear now that she wants to use the device she has to upgrade herself. Her, Rhinox, and Waspinator are the only ones sporting their season 1 looks still.

Silverbolt is noticing that Blackarachnia is paying Cheetor more and more attention, and he clearly doesn't like it. The White Knight is going to be taken over by the Green Eyed Monster pretty soon (no, not Cheetor).

As you can tell, so far I'm not a fan of the continually upgraded looks. So far only Optimus and Cheetor have gotten and 3rd look, but each one has gotten worse. I know they were probably trying to make them look edgy and stuff, but it's not working. In this case it's supposed to reflect that Cheetor "grew up" or something.